Machine for the manufacture of collapsible metal tubes



May29, 1923.

J. A. M GINNIS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CQLLAPSIBLZE METAL TUBES Filed June 28 .1921 5 Sheets-Sheet R O T N I V N REMOVE TUBE CAP AND H mm L wm PUT ON ww auwuxu a THEE/7D 4ND TRIM NEG/f J. A. M GINNIS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COLLAPSIBLE METAL TUBES Filed June 28, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTO R.

I ic kwu s w QMMSM May 29, 1923.

Filed June 28, '5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Mom 'May29, 1923 1,457,179

- Y J. A. MCGINNIS MACHINE- FOR MANUFACTURE OF COLLAPSIBLE METAL TUBES Filed June 28. 1921 5 Sheets-Slieep INVENTOR Wwis May 29, 1923. 1,457,179 J. A. M GINNIS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COLLAPSIBLE METAL TUBES Filed June 28. v1.921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 w m v l t QWSM 'citizen of the United States, residin 'r vmemm.

MOGINNIS. 0F WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOB TO ING COMPANY, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRG A CORPORATION OF UFACTUBE 0F COLLBISIBLE METAL TUBES.

Application filed June 22,1921. Serial no. sauna To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. MCGINNIs, a at Wheeling in the county of Ohio and tate of West irginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for the Manufacture of Collapsible Metal Tubes, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, re erence-beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a machine embodying my invention;

Figure l is a diagram illustrating the diiierent operations performed by the machine;

Figure 2 is a view, artly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, showing certain parts of the machine;

Figure 3 is a detail view showing the cap holding chuck and adjacent partsin vertical section;

Figure 4 is a face view of the chuck;

Figure 5 is a plan view showing certain of the parts on a larger scale' Figure 6 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section,'of the chuck and the parts for feeding the caps into the chuck;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view in vertical section, showing the lower portion of the feeding chute;

Figure 8 is a plan View of the chuck and adjacent parts; 1 1

Figure 9 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section;

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view showingvone of the cutter holders; and

igure 11 is a perspective view of the cutter carrier.

My invention has relation to machines forthe purpose of cutting the formed tubes to length, trimming the neck ends of the same, and threading the necks, such attachment operating to attach the cap closures to the necks after they have been threaded.v

Heretofore, as far as I am aware, it has been customary to screw the caps onto the threaded necks of the tubes after'the latter have been removed from the threading and trimming machines.

The nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which I have shown my invention as a plied to a tube trimming and threading mac ine of well known character, and which will now be described, it being remised, however, that various changes can e made in the details of construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the apt pended clalms. I

In these drawings, the numeral 2 designates the frame of a tube cutting and trimming machine. This machine is provided I with a rotary mandrel-carrying turret which pendently rotatable about a horizontal axis.

4 designates the driving shaft of the machine; and 5 the actuating gears for the turret and mandrels. Machines embodying the parts just referred to are well known in the art and need not be described in detail.

In operation, each mandrel has four operative ositions. In one osition, the collapsib e tube to be trimmed and threaded is placed on the mandrel; at the next position the neck is trimmed and threaded; at the third position the open end of the tube is cut to length; and at the fourth position the tube is removed. My invention adds a cap attaching operation at the third position of each mandrel. These several ositions of the mandrels are best illustrate in the diagram of Figure 1.

6 designates a feed hzpper in which a mass of the threaded and nished caps to be applied to the collapsible tubes are laced. This hopper is of any well known as ective character and acts to feed the caps with their open sides .up most into a suitable delivery chute 7. his chute is provided with the overflow spout 8 which discharges and lower gates 9 and 10 are acrom the passage of the chute, the gate 11 is withdrawn from such passage, and vice versa. The gates are mounted on a carriage 12 which is arranged to be reciprocated horizontally by means of a lever 13 pivoted at- 14 and havingits otherarm provided with a cam slot 14, which is engaged by a stud 14 on a member 15 whichis rigidly connected to a reciprocating member 16 hereinafter more fully described. By the operation of these gates, the caps are delivered singly, in succession, from the lower end of the chute 7, in edgewise position (see Fig. 6,) where they are received in a cavity 17 formed in a guide member 18, the top wall of this guide member being cut away as shown at 18 (see Figs. 6, 7, and 8) to allow the caps to fall through into said cavity. 19 designates the outer member of a chuck into. whichthe caps are inserted from the cavity 17, and which holds them while they are being threaded upon the tubes.- The holding member of the chuck comprises a helical wire coil 20 bent into annular form, with its inner diameter of proper size to receive and .frictionall-y hold the cap. This coil is seated in a bushing 21 which is seated in the outer member 19. This bushing and the coil 20 are normally held against rotation in the member 19 while the cap is being attached, but are capable of rotation therein when necessary, as when the cap has been fully seated upon the tube. This is effected by means of the two friction members 22 (see Fig. 4), which bear against the outer surface of the bushing 21 under the action of an adjustable spring 23.

- The opening 'in the chuck is opposite the end of the mandrels 3 when the latter are in their third position shown in Fig. 1. The outer member 19 of the chuck is attached to or formed as a part of a sleeve member 24, which. is mounted to be moved endwise toward and away from the mandrels. This endwise movement is effected through the rod. 25 having a sliding bearing in the fixed guide member 26, and which is connected through the springs 27 wi h an actuating arm 28. This arm 28 is rigidly attached at its lower end to the usual sllde 29, which carries a trimming into the chuck by the action of a plunger 34 whose rod 16 is slidably mounted in the sleeve 31 just referred to, and which is rigidly connected to the actuating arm 28 before described. It is to this plunger rod 16 that the actuating connections for the gate devices are connected, as before described. v

.35 and 36 designate the threading cutters for the tube necks, these cutters being fric- -tionally rotated by contact with the rotating necks of the tubes, and being geared to- .gether through the gears 36 (see Fig. 2) in the usual manner. The cutters are mounted on the levers 37, these levers being moved tov cause the cutters to approach towards and recede from each other by the arm 38 actuated by the lever 39, which in turnv is actuated by the stud 40. The stud 40 is in turn actuated by the cam 41 on the shaft 42, which is driven by the gearing which actuates the turret and spindles.

The slide 29 which carries the cutter 30, before referred to, is reciprocated in the usual manner by the stud 43 (see Fig. 9) carried by the slide and engaging the cam groove 44 of a cam 45 Which is mounted on the shaft 41. This slide is reciprocated towards and away from the ends of the mandrels in unison with the movement of the plunger 34 and chuck carrier 24, so as to bring the cutting edge of the tool 30 into trlmming contact at the proper time with the neck ends of the tubes when they are in the second position indicated in F igure 1. It is desirable that means be provided for very accurately positioning the cutter 30. Forthis purpose, said cutter is secured in a holder 46 which .has a T-head 47 which is adjustably secured by means of the set screws 48 in the T-slot of the head of a carrier 49. This carrier 49 is secured in the slide 29 by means of a screw 50 which permits of longitudinal adjustment of the carrier-by loosening the screw.

The shaft 42 is extended to the left (looking at Fig. 1) and carries a pulley 51 which, by means of a belt 51, drives the gears 52 which rotate the cap hopper 6;

53 designates the usual cutter which cuts the tubes to length,- at the third position of the mandrels.

' The operation is as follows. Thetubes are placed upon the mandrels by an attendant,a tube being placed on each mandrel as it comes to the first position indicated in. Figure 1". At the second position, the cutters 35 and .36 are moved by the lever 39 into cutting relation to the neck of the tube, and

act to exteriorly-thread such neck. At the: same time, the cutter 30 is actuated to trim ofi' the end of the neck and thus open the usual discharge slot therein. At the third position, the rod 16 is first moved independently of the rod 25, while the arm 28 is moving from the full line osition to the dotted line position shown in igure 6, to cause the plunger 34 to force a cap from the cavity 17 into the chuck 20, and thereafter the chuck carrier 24 is moved with the plunger 34 to cause the chuck to move fromthe full line position to the dotted line position shown in dotted lines in Figure 6, and thus engage the open end of-the cap in the chuck with the end of the threaded neck of the collapsible .tube, indicated in said figure. The rotation of the tube with its mandrel then causes the cap to be threaded upon said neck, after which .the chuck' returns into position to receive another cap, the chuck readily disengaging itself from the cap which has been attached. At the fourth position,the tube is removed by the attendant. These operations are repeated successively upon the tube of each mandrel.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent. It is readily applicable to existing;

machines, the only change necessary being the extension of the shaft'42 to form a tachment of the arin 28 to the cutter carrying slide 29. The parts constituting the invention are of simple character and construction, and their operation is reliable.

The caps are attached, to the tubes in the roper manner before the latter are removed mm the machine, thus doingaway with the necessity for a subsequent manual operation for this purpose. The cap holding chuck described is peculiarly effective in the provision of the spring coil which forms an efiicient' frictional holder for the caps, having the desired .degree of resilience. The frictional device for controlling the rotation of thecoil holder is also an advantageous feature.

It will be obvious that many changes can be made in the details of the construction and arrangement of the arts. Thus, any suitable type of selective eeder may be em ployed; the details ofthe mechanism for causing the caps to be delivered to the chuck maybe changed; and various other changes may be ma e.

I claim:

1. The combination with a machine for threading the necks of collapsible metal tubes and for trimmin the tubes, of cap feeding and attaching devices operating in co-relation with the threading and trimming devices, to apply caps to the thread- 2. The combination with a. machine for threading the necks of collapsible metal tubes and for trimming the tubes, of cap feeding and attaching devices operating in co-relation with the threading and trimming devices, to apply caps to the threaded necks of the tubcs'while the tubes are still on the machine, said cap applying operation bein coincident with the trimming operation 0 the machine, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a machine having means for trimming and threading collapsible tubes, said machine having a rotary mandrel for holding the tubes while they are being trimmed andthreaded, .of a cap feeding and attaching device cooperating with the said mandrel for attaching caps to the threaded ends of. the tubes, substantially as described.

4. .The combination with a machine having means for trimming and threading collapsible tubes, said machine having a rotary mandrel for holding the tubes while they are being trimmed and threaded, of a cap feeding and attaching device co-operating with the said mandrel, said mandrel having a plurality of operating positions; and the cap attaching operation taking place when the mandrel is at one of said positions, substantially as described.

5', The combination with a machine having means for trimming and threading collapsible tubes. said machine having a rotary mandrel for holding the tubes, means for rotating the mandrel about its own axis and also for turning it about another parallel axis, of a cap feeding and attaching device co-operating with said mandrel, substantially as described.

6. A cap feeding and attaching mechanism for collapsible tube machines, comprising a selective feeder which delivers the caps in a definite predetermined position, a feed chute into which the ca s. are delivered from the hopper, achuck or holding the caps while they are being attached, and means for periodically. inserting the caps into the chuck as theyare delivered from said chute, substantially as described.

7. A cap feeding and attaching, mechanism for collapsible tube machines, comprising a selective feeder which delivers the iao 8. A cap feeding and attaching mechanism for collapsible tube machines, compris ing a selective feeder which delivers the caps into a definite predetermined position, a feed chute into which the caps are delivered from the hopper, a chuck for holding the caps while they are being attached, and means for periodically inserting the caps into the chuck as they are delivered from said chute, said chute having oppositely acting separated gates, and means for actuating the gates in timed relation to the other operations of the machine, substantially as described.

9. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a feed chute,

, of a chuck into which the caps are delivered from said chute, said chuck having a cap holder consisting ofa helical metal coil bent into ring form, substantially as described.

10. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a feed chute, of a chuck into which the caps are delivered from said chute, said chuck having a cap holder consitsing of a helical metal coil bent into ring form, together with a rotatable sleeve in which said holder is seated,

and a friction device for the sleeve, substantially as described. I

11. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a feed chute, of a chuck into which the caps are delivered from said chute, said chuck having a cap holder consisting of a helical metal coil bent into ring form, together with a rotatable sleeve in which said holder is seated, and an adjustable friction device for the sleeve, substantially as described.

12. In mechanism of the character de scribed, the combination witha feed chute having means for delivering caps in definite predetermined ositions, of a chuck carrier mounted to reciprocate below the discharge end of said chute, a'cap holding chuck on said carrier adjacent the lower end of said chute. a plunger for moving the caps from the lower portion of the chute into the chuck, means for periodically reciprocating the plunger, and means for periodically reciprocating the 'carirer, substantially as described.

13. In mechanism of the character. described, the combination with a feed chute having means for delivering caps in definite predetermined positions, of a chuck carrier mounted to reciprocate below the dis charge end of said chute, a cap holding chuck on said carrier adjacent the lower end of said chute, a plunger for moving the caps from the lower portion of the chute into the chuck, means for periodically reciprocating the plunger, and-means for periodically reciprocating the carrier, said reciprocating means operating to move the plunger forwardly in advance of the forward movement of the chuck carrier, substantially as described.

14. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a tube hold ing mandrel and means for rotating the mandrel, of a feed chute for the caps, feeding means for delivering them in definite predetermined positions, a chuck carrier mounted to reciprocate below the discharge end of said chute and having a cap receivin cavity therein, a cap holding chuck on said carrier adjacent to said cavity, a plunger for moving the caps from the cavity into the chuck, means for periodically reciprocating said plunger, and means for periodically reciprocating the carrier, substantially as described.

15. In mechanism of the character'described, the combination with a machine having a tube holding mandrel adapted to prevent collapse of the tube, of a cap holding chuck adapted to, cooperate with the mandrel, means for periodically feeding a cap into said chuck, and means for periodically moving the chuck toward and away from the mandrel, substantially as described. 16. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a rotary man-- drel, of a chuck for frictionally holding a cap, feeding mechanism for delivering the caps in predetermined positions and at predetermined intervals, means for inserting the caps as they are fed into the chuck, and means for periodically causing the mandrel and chuck to relatively approach towards and recede from each other, substantially as described. 7

17.'In a machine of the character described, the combination with atube holding mandrel, of a cutter device for trim-- 'ming the neck ends of the tubes, means for moving said cutter device towards and away from the mandrel, and cap feeding and attaching means actuated by the movements of the cutter carrier, substantially as described.

18. In a machine of the character described, a cutting tool for trimming the neck ends of the mandrel, a holder in which the tool is secured, a carrier in which the tool holder is secured, means for adjusting the carrier lon itudinally, means for adjusting the holder in the carrier and means for at- I tubes, of means for frictionall engaging, 22. In a collapsible tube working machine, 1e holding and ap lying caps to t e threaded means for threading the necks of the tubes, necks of the tubes while the tubes are still and means for frictionally holding caps on the machine, substantially as described. and a plying the same automatically to the 6 21. In a collapsible tube working machine, threa ed necks, substantially as described.

means for threading the necks of the tubes, In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 15 and means for automatically supp] ing caps my hand. to the threaded necks, substantial y as described. JOHN A. MdSrINNIS, 

